According to the latest figures released by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), total revenues grew by 16.5% to $8.72bn in 2017, which is a $1.23bn year-on-year increase.

The report states that streaming services in the US experienced revenue growth of 43%, accounting for $5.7bn of the total market revenues. Paid music subscriptions, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon’s service, Pandora and Tidal grew by a colossal 63% last year.

We‘re delighted by the progress so far, but to put the numbers in context, these two years of growth only return the business to 60% of its peak size – about where it stood ten years ago – and that’s ignoring inflation. And make no mistake, there’s still much work to be done in order to make this growth sustainable for the long term.”

RIAA chairman/CEO Cary Sherman's words illustrate that, whilst it is clear the industry still has a long way to go to return to a point of sustainable growth, streaming services are leading the way in the revival of the market.

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